Skip to main content

Story: Taranaki places

Dawson Falls

Image
Dawson Falls

Dawson Falls are known to Māori as Te Rere-o-Noke (the falls of Noke), after a man who escaped his pursuers by hiding under them. Thomas Dawson was a post office official who, after being transferred to Manaia in 1878, spent much of his spare time exploring the mountain’s relatively unknown southern slopes. He found the 18-metre falls on the Kāpuni Stream in 1883. Dawson drowned a few years later in a boating accident on the Whanganui River.

Using this item

Flickr: RobAucklandNZ's photostream

by Robert Newell

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Ron Lambert, Taranaki places – Te Papa Kura o Taranaki (formerly Egmont National Park), Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/25931/dawson-falls (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Ron Lambert, published 23 February 2010, updated 1 September 2016.